Tuesday, 25 March 2014

Dunedin

I
took the excursion train up the Taieri Gorge. Like the Arthur's
Pass excursion, this was well worth while, with most impressive
scenery. Of course, it wasn't cheap, but it departed from the wharf,
alongside the ship. The line is operated as a tourist attraction,
and seems well patronised and very well organised. The return trip
took over 4 hours, but this included some stops. In addition to the
15 carriage special train operated as an excursion for the cruise
passengers (who were supplied on board with coffee, soft drinks, beer
and lunch with white wine), the normal train operated two trips,
both of which we saw (one at the terminus, and one on our return) and
both were well patronised.

The
gorge scenery can only be appreciated from pictures, one of which is here and I'll post more when I can (now done).

As
mentioned in the previous post, we'll now be at sea with no
affordable internet until our return. The ship is preparing to depart, and there's a piper on the wharf as evidence of Dunedin's Scottish heritage.